Pharmacy Technicians in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,287
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$6,393
16.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,322
Arkansas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arkansas — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$38,680
Kept after tax
$32,287
Worth in national money
$37,322
State rank
50
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Arkansas pays pharmacy technicians a middle wage of $38,680, 50 of 51 states and about 15.45% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Arkansas reports figures for, this is number 348.
- Here is where Arkansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $38,680 you keep $32,287, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $37,322 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $41,160, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arkansas's $38,680 median for pharmacy technicians places it 50 of 51 states, about 15.45% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- In Arkansas's occupational distribution, pharmacy technicians sits at 348 of 489 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Arkansas income tax, retained pay for pharmacy technicians on $38,680 is $32,287. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $37,322 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $41,160 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Pharmacy Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,620 |
| This salary | $38,680 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Arkansas | $32,287 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,259 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,096 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $37,470 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,744 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Arkansas earn less than $38,680. The published range is $33,400 up to $48,620, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $32,287 take-home in Arkansas comes from $38,680. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 348 of 489.
- Two cautions on $37,322, the adjusted value of that $38,680 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Arkansas. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 348 of 489 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for pharmacy technicians in Arkansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $33,400 to $48,620. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $32,287, from $38,680, assumes a single Arkansas filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 348 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 50 of 51 for it.
- This $37,322 adjusted figure, worked from $38,680, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 348 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 348 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $41,160, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $33,400 at the bottom tenth to $48,620 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Arkansas is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $37,322 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Arkansas then takes its own share, leaving $32,287.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Arkansas is $41,160. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($33,400 to $48,620) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arkansas rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Arkansas's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $37,322 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $32,287 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arkansas income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.